Bette Jean Smith Dubriske 90, a longtime resident of Keene, NH, passed away peacefully at the Genesis Keene Center on January 3, 2021 following a very brief illness. Prior to that, she lived with her son, Paul, where she was very happy, after selling her home on the East Surry Road that she and her husband built in 1978.
Her parents, Guy E. and Hazel (Whitehouse) Smith welcomed their daughter into the world on June 19, 1930 in Center Harbor, NH. Bette moved from Center Harbor to Winchester, NH when she was twelve years old. She attended local schools and was a 1948 graduate of Thayer High School in Winchester, and was voted Class Poet in her senior year.
As a teenager, Bette worked in the Winchester Paper Mill running the napkin machine. It was here that her life would forever be changed as she met her future husband, Chester E. "Chet" Dubriske, there. They were married on April 22, 1950 in St. Michael’s Church in Ashuelot, NH. The couple moved to Keene in 1951. They shared many wonderful memories together over their sixty-four years of marriage until Chet’s passing on June 4, 2014.
Bette retired from the National Grange Mutual Insurance Company after 25 years as a commercial lines underwriter. She was a communicant of St. Bernard Church in Keene.
Sewing was her lifelong passion and she was a well-known, very talented seamstress, designing and making christening gowns, wedding gowns, prom dresses, costumes, uniforms, toys, home décor, upholstery, and doing alternations, etc., still using the Singer sewing machine her husband bought her as a Christmas gift in 1950.
She loved a funny joke, but could never tell one because she couldn’t stop laughing before the punch line.
She was an outstanding cook and loved cooking for everyone, but most especially making cookies with her grandchildren. She enjoyed playing the piano, knitting, reading, crossword puzzles, and loved playing cards and board games with her family, the joy and light of her life.
She will be greatly missed by many especially her children, Gail Secore and her husband, Dennis of Keene, Paul Dubriske and his wife, Gail, of Keene, James Dubriske and his wife, Judy, of Gilsum, NH; her grandchildren, Bette-Jean Tousley and her husband, Todd, of Swanzey, NH, Richard Davis and his companion, Holli Knight, of Keene, Brian Davis and his wife, Kristen, of Stratham, Adam Dubriske and his wife, Nicole, of Troy, NH, Patricia Swift and her husband, Jason, of Keene, Ben Dubriske and his wife, Christie, of Antrim, NH, Christopher Dubriske and his wife, Meghan, of Keene, Ryan Dubriske and his wife, Heather, of Gilsum; 18 great-grandchildren; and one great-great-grandson. She was predeceased by her siblings, Guy E. Smith, Jr, James C. Smith, Richard Smith, and Julie Efstratios.
Funeral services and burial will be held privately by the family.
For those who wish, donations may be made in Mrs. Dubriske’s memory to the Resident’s Activity Fund at the Genesis Keene Center, 677 Court Street, Keene, NH 03431; or to a charity of your choice.
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